Zyzphus formula

[peanut1]

This has significantly impacted my sleep for the better for almost 3 months now. That and I'm also on HRT(hormone replacement therapy.) All grain, sugar and caffeine, and MSG ingredients are eliminated from my diet. I say all caffeine, but if I have a morning cup of decaf or 2 cups that seems to be okay even though decaf has a small percentage of caffeine. Sleep was so good I was getting about 6 hours during the week without any meds and 7 on the weekend. This week for whatever reason has been rough and I'm not sure if the Zyzphus is not working anymore, this is a temporary setback or whatever..... However, being on this herb was amazing, particularly since I had to double the regular meds within the week--not with Zyzphys, it works (or maybe worked) like a charm. I got this from my acupuncturist. So I'm not really sure where I'm at now with WED, but I'm hoping this is a temporary setback as I know this sometimes happens. Either way, I keep putting one foot in front of another.

[ViewsAskew]

utting one foot in front of the other is all we can do!

Hope it continues to work.

[Polar Bear]

I hope your sleep last night continued to be positive.

[peanut1]

only time will tell!

[peanut1]

This weekend I slept well. Let's see if this continues

[peanut1]

Bad couple of nights which makes me wonder if my body has gotten used to the zyzphus. I think I may have been in denial before thinking oh if I just do this or I just do that then the WED will be cured. I guess I needed to radically change the diet, reduce the stress, get the apnea machine, get the hormones, try acupuncture (which did reduce the stress) eliminate a ton of stuff, and try numerous meds to realize that this damn thing always finds a ways to creep back into my life and get really bad again. None of the damn meds seem to work for any length of time. I also get sick on a lot of the meds, but I need to get back on the ones that will work even if short lived since I cannot survive on 3 fragmented hours a night for long. I will say that I do feel and am coping better with the lack of sleep with the better diet and reducing the stress. The good news is that I may be reaching a new level of acceptance that it will be going up and down the rest of my life i.e. if there is a cure out there, there is a good chance that I will not see this in my lifetime. I think that level of acceptance has been from hard work (with diet and stress reduction techniques that I practice daily) and time.
I say that now, because I've ONLY not slept well for the past 2 nights. Give me a few weeks and I may have an entirely different attitude, but I guess that's part of the process too.

[ViewsAskew]

I really is frustrating, isn't it?

[peanut1]

It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't panicking on top of it! It's like I don't know what else to try--med wise or other!!!!! The only thing I can do is see Dr. Ondo, but at this point I'm not sure if even he could help me.

[peanut1]

My big fear is that I will not be able to work and pay my bills.

[ViewsAskew]

More than one of us has thought that we were at the end, only to see someone like Dr Ondo. Then we find there is more. It really is worth doing, I think.

[peanut1]

I'm waiting for my appointment! I really don't want to get off the herbs yet, because they are helping with other things. But I'm going to see my acupuncturist to give me another herb to help with what this one does. Maybe later I can go back to the herbs that worked and won't have to take as many meds.

[ViewsAskew]

Keep us in the loop!

[badnights]

Yes, hang in there, peanut! I know how bad things seem when there's been no sleep for days and weeks, but that's a false impression. Keep up with your stress-busting practices, because that's what's going to get you through this patch in as healthy a state as possible. And I like your idea of adding another herb; even if it doesn't help, you're doing something constructive which is wonderful for the anxiety, and if it does help, you can regard it as a double bonus!

When is your appt with Ondo? I know he will have brilliant suggestions for you.

[peanut1]

Thank you! Last night was a little better (4 hours) but no meds. I took a couple of clonazepam the night before so I did get some good sleep then. I also made an appointment with my sleep neurologist who is the best in Austin, to discuss other med options, they said they would refill any prescriptions between now and when I meet with him. I am still waiting to hear from Dr. Ondo's office for the appointment. I will call them if I don't hear from them by the end of the day.

Yesterday, I saw a naturopath to discuss all of my food allergies (beth, that was partly due to your other thread) and she thinks there is definitely some serious digestive issues going on (red flag being the extensive food allergies) which could be exacerbating the WED. Wherever THAT goes, I do not expect that to even remotely cure the WED, but am hoping it can lessen the intensity of it when it gets really bad. And even if it does NOTHING for the WED at least I might be in a healthier state with the high doses of meds or little sleep.

[peanut1]

I ended up canceling the appointment with the naturopath (sp?) as my acupuncturist had a colleague who was both naturopath and acupuncturist, plus it was considerably cheaper. He wants to focus on getting the trauma out of the body (I have complex PTSD) before we do anything with digestive issues and asked me to stay off any processed foods. He also prescribed a new herbal formula in addition to the zizphus. He also did a treatment and it felt like the needles were literally eating the WED. My leg was almost numb. I find it difficult to believe this will do anything for the WED, but I do believe it helped the PTSD since it seriously got the qi moving. The additional herbs have been helpful so far. Slept 7 hours the first night and last night as well. I do wake up in the middle of the night, but am still grateful for the extra sleep. Unlike the meds where I doubled them and was getting a measley 5 hours a night. I can also see where he wants to focus on doing one thing at a time since stress can upset digestion, cause candida etc.

Kathy